His fight against Cerberus Rakio was 'doomed to fail'.

Its three heads radiated fire, lightning, and ice, all of which were superior to great magic. Dodging these elemental blasts was hard enough, but there was something even worse.

Chains!

There were chains looped around the three-headed dog's neck, which were about as large as a human torso. This chain 'necklace' possessed a special power. Like Kang Oh's Darkness Chain, Cerberus could freely create and control the chains. It could control several of them at the same time at that!

Its fire, lightning, and ice were already disastrous enough, but he also had to dodge the countless chains coming his way too! How the hell was he supposed to dodge them all!?

However, Kang Oh was somehow managing to do the impossible.

Of course, it was only possible because he'd used Gluttony, fueling it with one of his mass-produced swords. Also, becoming a Master was definitely coming into play here. Add to that his already existing Hyper Intuition and his high evasion, and the impossible became possible.

But all he was doing was dodging; he didn't hold an advantage, nor was time on his side.

"Hahk, hahk." Kang Oh breathed haggardly.

Dodging Cerberus's unending assault was taking a lot out of him.

'Think, Kang Oh. How do I get out of this alive!?'

His mind worked faster than his body. Ultimately, he could only think of one viable option. He had to break through the exit no matter what.

However, Kang Oh didn't have the time to do that.

'I hope my companions will do that for me!'

His companions were probably doing their utmost to pierce through the blocked exit.

He was absolutely right.

Sephiro, Eder, Tasha, and Sara were doing their best to break through the blockage. However, it was by no means an easy task.

The Cerberus hadn't simply caused the ground to rise up and cover the exit. There was some immense power blocking it. It was probably Cerberus Rakio's power.

Nevertheless, they didn't give up. Kang Oh didn't give up either.

'I'm definitely getting out of this alive! I'm more resilient than a cockroach!'

* * *

"Ooh, it's crumbled a little bit," Sephiro yelled.

Various sized cracks spread across the tough wall.

"Keep going!" Eder yelled.

"Got it!" Tasha and Sara yelled simultaneously.

Two of their hands were clasped together, while the other two were extended towards the wall.

Whoosh!

Tasha released a blood red energy blast, while Sara shot chilling blue energy. The two mixed together in midair, forming red ice.

Frostblood!

This was special ice that both froze its target and drained their power!

Honestly, this was Tasha and Sara's best chance at escaping Kang Oh's grasp. If they just ran away, then neither Eder nor Sephiro would be able to stop them.

But they didn't.

Why?

Tasha didn't really have any place to go. Not only that, but Kang Oh was the only person she trusted in the entire world.

Sara had briefly thought, 'Should I escape?', but soon shook her head. She wanted to be free. However, she was afraid that if left unchecked, the Ice Soul's power would go out of control once more.

But Kang Oh was capable of keeping the Ice Soul's power in check. Thus, she decided to do her best to save him.

The wall blocking their path was frozen by red ice.

"Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Sephiro and Eder yelled simultaneously.

The Bone Sabre-toothed Tiger, Goni, opened its mouth wide.

Bam!

It unleashed a powerful shockwave.

At the same time...

Sephiro forcefully drew his bowstring, and then let loose.

Sun Piercing Arrow!

Ting!

Whizz!

The shockwave and the arrow struck the frozen wall.

Boom!

The red ice shattered into pieces. Obviously, the wall had slightly crumbled too.

'Please be safe, Mr. Kang Oh.'

"Again!" Eder yelled.

* * *

"We got through!" Sephiro yelled.

Their efforts hadn't gone to waste. They had finally poked a hole through the wall.

Then, they saw the gate to the underworld, Cerberus, and Kang Oh.

"He's still alive!" Sephiro yelled joyfully.

That's right. Kang Oh was still alive, even though 15 minutes had passed.

"Hurry," Eder yelled.

They focused on widening the hole so that Kang Oh could pass through it.

"Grr!" Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

[Gluttony has ended.]

Since 15 minutes had passed, the effects of Gluttony had worn off, making his body feel a lot heavier than before.

'I need to hold on for just a little while longer!'

Kang Oh had eyes too. He saw the hole in the wall.

He then activated Devil Trigger. It had been a while since he'd transformed into the Jet-Black Demon instead of the Dual Demon.

Kang Oh's vision was filled with nothing but Rakio's fireball and lightning.

Roar!

Crackle!

His body was a lot slower without Gluttony. Thus, it was difficult to dodge them.

Plus, he had already used Moon's Protection, which nullified all damage for 3 seconds.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to take it head-on.

Dragon's Fury!

The Avenger set let off a faint glow, and Ubist radiated intense light. Then, a massive and equally mighty power surged from Kang Oh's body.

"Huahp!" Kang Oh swung downwards with a vertical strike.

The gray destructive energy spread outwards, which devoured Rakio's fireball and lightning.

Grr!

Rakio backed off so that it wouldn't be consumed by Dragon's Fury. Unbefitting its large body, its movements were extremely quick and agile.

'Now!' Kang Oh turned around, and pointed Ubist at the wall.

Abyss Predator!

In an instant, ten of his stolen stats were gone. But in exchange, his blade unleashed a powerful darkness blast at the wall, which was well worth the price.

Boom!

The wall crumbled completely. He could see his companions plain as day.

"Mr. Kang Oh!"

"Hurry!"

"Over here!"

At that moment...

A giant glacier surged from beneath Kang Oh's feet. It was the work of Rakio, who could also control ice.

"Huh?"

"Mr. Kang Oh!"

He could hear his companions' pitiful cries as his body melted into the darkness.

Abyss Transfer!

He had dodged it by a hair's breadth. Ice and snow appeared where he'd once been.

If he had been even a second slower, then he would've been frozen solid.

Anyhow, Kang Oh instantly teleported to his companions' side.

"Mr. Kang Oh."

"I'm glad you're alright!"

Both Sephiro and Eder clasped one of his hands each.

"Hurry up and run!" Kang Oh said.

Even he thought his performance was admirable. How the hell did he manage to stay alive against that monstrous Cerberus for 15 minutes?

'You did good, Kang Oh!' Kang Oh ran, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. His companions also ran as hard as they could.

But then...

Something unexpected happened.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

Cerberus's chain necklace, or its magical chains, wrapped around Kang Oh's party.

"What?"

"Hurry up and break the chains!" Kang Oh yelled urgently, and swung at the chains.

However...!

"Uheok!"

The chains' pulling force was tremendous. It instantly pulled Kang Oh's party in without giving them a chance to resist.

The landscape changed quickly, as they were dragged through the air. They couldn't control their bodies at all.

"Ugh."

Ultimately, Kang Oh and his companions were dragged in front of Rakio.

Grr.

The three-headed dog snarled, as if welcoming them to try and take it on. It opened all three of its mouths simultaneously, gathering fire, lightning, and ice energy within.

Aim, fire!

The three powerful blasts descended upon their heads. There was absolutely nothing they could do.

* * *

Even if he died, the Cassio Ring would revive him. And if Tasha or Sara died, they would return to their demon swords. Sephiro was a player, so he would be revived too.

The problem was Eder. If he died, it would be the end of the line for him!

"No!" Kang Oh threw himself at Eder and shielded him with his body.

However...

Rakio's attack hadn't killed Kang Oh's party.

Why, you ask?

"What... is going on?" Kang Oh looked surprised.

A giant purple veil separated Kang Oh's party and Rakio. The veil had protected Kang Oh from Rakio's attack.

"Who...?" Kang Oh glanced at his party members. However, they looked as clueless as him.

At that moment...

The silhouette of a woman appeared behind the purple veil.

"L-Lady Deborah!" Eder yelled in shock.

When he had visited the Great Temple of Death and was granted an audience with the goddess, he had seen this very sight. At the time, a purple veil had appeared, and a silhouette of a woman had appeared behind it.

Eder quickly knelt onto the ground and bowed his head.

However, he couldn't understand what was going on. Why did the Goddess of Death suddenly appear?

The rest of his party followed suit. Strangely, Rakio also bent over and bowed its three heads.

"Begone," the goddess said, her voice lofty, yet cold.

Arf.

They even saw the Cerberus, the formidable, unbeatable beast, wagging its tail at her.

'Wait a sec.' A light bulb suddenly went off in his head.

The Goddess of Death, Deborah, was definitely the manager of the underworld. And this was the Goddess's Land! Not to mention the fact that the system message had described Rakio as 'Deborah's Guard Dog'.

In other words, Rakio was Deborah's pet.

"Kang Oh, Eder." The goddess's voice rang out once more.

"Yes, Supreme One," Eder said respectfully.

"Please speak." Kang Oh didn't want to get on her bad side either. After all, she had just saved him and his party's lives.

"This place is forbidden. Normally, I would've watched you die. However, you have been tasked with an important mission. That's why I saved you."

She had saved them because of Kang Oh. He had received a mission to defeat the Mayanes.

Due to the God of Creation's sources, the Mayanes were immortal, and the only one capable of bypassing their immortality was Kang Oh, as the possessor of Demon Sword Ubist.

"Thank you," Kang Oh yelled.

"Don't come here again. This is no place for humans. And Kang Oh, Eder. Do your duty," Deborah said.

"Yes!"

"Understood. But... Supreme One," Kang Oh said.

"What is it?"

"Has Gainus contacted you? Or sent you a request?"

Kang Oh had spoken to the Divine Dragon, Gainus, regarding alternate ways of finding the Mayanes. Since they were so hard to find, they would be better off setting up a trap; instead of pursuing them, the Mayanes would come to them.

Thus, they needed some mouth-watering bait. Like the God of Creation's sources!

Gainus had relayed this idea to Deborah so that they could use the sources as bait. However, he hadn't gotten any word back.

"He wanted the God of Creation's sources in order to lure out the Mayanes."

"Did you give them to him?"

"No."

'As expected.'

That's why he hadn't heard any news.

"Why did you refuse?" Kang Oh asked.

"I possess two of the God of Creation's sources. The God of Destruction has two, and Jigon and Orga have four."

"That's correct."

"Things could go wrong, and Jigon or Orga could obtain their fifth source. That's why I refused."

"Does something bad happen if they obtain their fifth source?"

"They become a demigod."

"A demigod?"

"They would become so powerful that you couldn't hope to stand against them."

Although they would only be half god, that half was still too much for them to deal with.

"If that happens, then the God of Destruction will have to intervene. However, the God of Destruction's power is so great that he will destroy not only the Mayanes, but the continent, no, the entire world. With the God of Creation's absence, a destroyed world cannot be created anew."

"Mm."

It was a complicated problem. He could completely understand where she was coming from.

However, Kang Oh wanted to kill the rest of the Mayanes and complete the goddess's quest as soon as possible.

By completing her quest, the goddess would remove the limitations on his body, which would allow him to become a Grandmaster.

Since he'd already become a Master, which was the end of the line for normal humans, he wanted her to remove his limitations as soon as possible.

But he wasn't sure when they would find Jigon or Orga, or if it was even possible to find them. After all, they hadn't been able to find them all this time.

'I can't just sit here and do nothing.'

Kang Oh quickly looked for an answer. Was there any way to convince Deborah to give him the God of Creation's sources?

He thought even harder. However, Deborah didn't give him much time to think.

"Begone," Deborah said.

'No, I don't have any time. Is there a way... Is there?'

His companions stood up one or two at a time. The purple veil gradually began to disappear.

However...!

If you want something really badly, then you'll get it.

"P-Please wait a moment!"

Kang Oh suddenly thought of a good idea.